


Chopping Down A Tree Instead of My Boyfriend

by bowlingfornerds



Category: The 100
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Strangers, Trees, a woman scorned, bartender! bellamy, meeting in the woods for no real reason, tree carvings, woods
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-04
Updated: 2015-06-04
Packaged: 2018-04-02 21:15:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4074118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bowlingfornerds/pseuds/bowlingfornerds
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inspired by the tumblr prompt:</p><p>“You’re trying to cut down a tree after a bad breakup because you and your ex wrote your names on it. I decide to help”</p><p>TLDR; bellarke+amateur lumber jacks</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chopping Down A Tree Instead of My Boyfriend

**Author's Note:**

> I really enjoyed writing this, so I really hope you enjoy reading it.
> 
> I've written loads of little fan fictions in the past few days, because I finally have a laptop, so don't be surprised if I keep uploading more, even terrible quality ones. Just smile at the fact I tried.

Bellamy’s still not completely sure why he did it.

It could be because she was cute; her hair thrown up into a ponytail, with so many parts she simply missed falling down her back. Or maybe it was because she really looked like she could do with the help ( _professional_ _help_ , maybe) and he was a nice guy. Maybe he was just bored. Either way, he decided to let the girl with the axe interrupt his morning walk through the woods.

He walked this way every day when he got up. And, as a bar tender, that meant it was usually an early afternoon walk – less dog walkers and runners, more twelve year olds with pocket knives, burning ants. He didn’t mind all that much. Bellamy had realised that if he ignored them, they would ignore him.

The same could be said for the girl. She was at his half way mark, close enough. Standing at the edge of the clearing to his left, dishevelled and panting. The area was nice – covered above by trees, but still with bright green grass, perfect for picnics. He’d seen many couples and family lunches on his walks, and almost all of them were at this spot.

There were none today, though. Maybe that was because of the girl. Parents don’t usually like taking their children near people with axes.

Making a split decision in his head, he turned off the path and walked across the grass. Bellamy didn’t get too close – just far enough away that she wouldn’t hit him with the axe if she spun around, and maybe with the right amount of distance for him to get a quick getaway, if needed.

He cleared his throat first. Nothing. She didn’t notice he was there as she hacked at the tree with the axe. There was already a sizable cut – but it would take a lot more for it to fall, and Bellamy was fairly sure she wouldn’t make it that far. Sighing, he spoke up.

“Hey,” he said as she hit the wood with the axe. The girl immediately stilled and spun, her axe following. Bellamy was glad he’d chosen a distance.

She looked him up and down, before turning back to the tree, chopping at it again. “Hi,” she said, gritting her teeth. Bellamy coughed, looking around. He was regretting this already.

“Do you, uh… do you need any help?” He asked, shoving his hands in his pockets. The day was unseasonably warm, he noticed in the back of his mind. It was a bad day to wear jeans.

“Nope,” the girl replied, popping the ‘p’. She was dressed for summer, though, even though it was still early in the year. She wore a small pair of dark shorts and a vest top, covered by an oversized (slightly dirty) plaid t-shirt. He noticed the shirt had burn stains on it – but that was a question for someone else to bother with.

“Okay – well, uh…” he trailed off, looking around again. Still no one in sight. “If you’re sure.”

“I am,” she insisted, not looking back. Bellamy noticed that while the girl’s face was set in anger, her cheeks shined with tear tracks. He decided that leaving her alone with an axe was probably not the best of solutions. Bellamy took a few steps back and then sat on the ground, watching.

In between swings, the girl looked over at him. He could see that she was bothered by his presence, but not enough to tell him to leave, or to threaten him with the axe. She kept chopping.

He watched her with obvious curiosity. She reminded him a little of his sister; the same determined look, the same style of clothing – even the way she used the axe reminded him of Octavia (he couldn’t really justify that last point, besides having seen his sister wield one before). He wondered why she was cutting at the tree; why she had the urge to. But he wasn’t going to ask, not until she wanted to speak.

So he sat in silence, until the girl reached a dent about half way through the tree (it was fairly thick, he noticed – something that had stood for decades, probably) and huffed, holding the axe at her side. He was considering making a joke about the eco system – or maybe about the activists who paraded around these woods – but he had a feeling she wouldn’t like it. He was considering, himself, about the implications of cutting down the tree, but she stopped his thoughts short – as if she knew exactly what he was thinking.

“Don’t worry,” she said between heaving breaths. “I’ll plant another tree.” He smirked slightly, leaning back on his elbows. The girl paused before walking over to him and sitting down beside his stretched out body, dropping the axe by her side. For a moment, they were quiet, staring at the tree, half cut, still not even swaying in the wind.

“You know, a saw might have worked better,” he commented at last. He heard her scoff, and turned to see her shake her head.

“I’ll remember that next time,” she replied. He nodded.

“Yeah, maybe one of those two person ones – with the handles at each end? I watched this film about logging-“

“You watched a film about _logging_?” She asked, scrunching up her nose. Bellamy rolled his eyes.

“It wasn’t a film specifically on the subject. But, like, it was where the film was set – they had those saws, though.” The blonde looked back to the tree.

“So what was the film about?” She asked at last.

“It was Jennifer Lawrence going from a business shark, helping Bradley Cooper running his logging camp, to losing her mind,” he explained. He was looking at the tree, too.

“How did she lose her mind?” Bellamy shrugged.    

“Jealousy.” He noticed movement from the girl, and he turned to look at her, finding her already watching him. She had an unreadable expression, but her bright blue eyes pierced him.

“But she’s with Bradley Cooper, and she’s gorgeous,” she said. “Why would she have to be jealous?”

“Because he fucked a girl and had a kid with her. She wasn’t very amused with it.”

“Did he cheat?” She asked. Bellamy noticed her eyes flash. He shook his head.

“No, it was before he’d met her. She was a woman who worked at the camp, and then he met Jennifer Lawrence, fell in love and brought her back to his home-“

“Where the woman and the baby lived?” Bellamy nodded.

“Yeah, he let them stay. He loved J Law, but he felt guilty because he wasn’t really looking after his kid.” She was silent for a bit before nodding.

“How does it end?” She asked. He was silent for a moment.

“Badly, always badly. But, I won’t tell you how – it would ruin the film for you.” The girl scoffed, sitting up straight and running a finger down the axe. Bellamy sat up, too.

“Everything always ends badly,” she commented.

“Not everything,” he replied.

“Yes,” the girl was firm. “Everything.” The two of them were silent for the moment, and they looked at the tree, about to die but not ready. Bellamy thought over her words – not everything ends badly? Surely, not everything? But he thought of his parents’ marriage, and his father walking out after Octavia was born. And he thought of his mother’s death, after being the nicest woman he’d ever known. He thought of his friend, Raven, who’s five year boyfriend, and lifelong best friend, cheated on her for a year. He tried to think of something that had ended well – but besides the odd Disney film, he came up fairly shorthanded.

“See?” The girl said at last. Bellamy turned to her, and watched as she came to look at him. “Everything.” They were quiet for a moment, letting the words sink in.

“You’re depressing, aren’t you?” Bellamy ended up asking with a sigh. He ran a hand through his hair, the faint outlines of a smirk on his face.

“Only recently,” she replied. Bellamy looked back to the tree.

“Why are you cutting it down?” He asked. The girl was quiet again. He didn’t like the silence. Silence at home was okay; aware of his sister in the next room, and one of their friends, asleep on the sofa in the living room, hung over and tired. There, he was safe and secure. Here, he was sitting on the ground, next to an obviously-scorned girl with an axe. Here, silence felt a little dangerous.

“My boyfriend and I broke up,” she ended up saying. She stood up, her crossed legs straightening and she didn’t use her arms. The axe was left on the ground as she wandered over to the tree. Bellamy got up and followed. “He and I had been together for a year or so, when I found out he had another girlfriend. I was the other woman.”

Bellamy nodded, silently. He’d just come back from a shift at the bar the night before, serving Raven drink after drink to help her drown her sorrows. It was a small town, Bellamy wondered how he’d never seen Finn with the other girl.

“About four months in, when we were in that stage of ‘I love yous’ and sex every other day,” the girl continued. “We came up here and carved our names on the tree.” Bellamy stepped forward, watching her fingers drift over the carvings. Clear as day, there was a crudely drawn heart, with the initials ‘FC+CG’ written inside it. He stared at it for a while, sighing. She didn’t need to explain any more to why she was chopping it down, and he looked to her, her eyes beginning to fill with fresh tears at the sight of it.

“Which are yours?” He asked, gesturing to the initials. She touched the ones on the right with her fore finger.

“C.G.,” she said. “Clarke Griffin.”

“Bellamy Blake,” he replied. She smiled faintly before sticking her hands in her pockets and looking at the carving. He couldn’t stand to see her upset. Fair enough, he had never met her before – but her eyes shining with tears and not laughter was something he didn’t like. He could imagine her happy; see it so clearly. A part of him wanted to punch the guy who’d done this to her.

As he turned to walk back to the axe, he glanced back. “And what’s the guy called?” He asked. She took a moment to respond, so he picked up the axe, hefting it in one hand.

“Finn Collins,” she replied sadly. Bellamy almost dropped the axe on his foot. He was horribly aware of how painful that would be.

“ _Finn Collins_?” He asked incredulously. She nodded, not looking at him.

“Yeah, I walked into his apartment – because, you know, _he gave me a key_ ,” she explained, looking anywhere but Bellamy’s expression. “And he was on the sofa, on top of another girl! And, granted, she was more attractive than I am – but that’s not okay!” She was wandering around the tree as she spoke, anger lacing her voice. “She was angry and I was angry, and it turns out that they’ve been dating for like their entire lives, and I’m just some mistress to him!”

Only then did she turn to Bellamy, frozen, angry, shocked. “What?” She asked. He hefted the axe into both hands, walking over to the tree. In one swift motion, he cut a notch in it, along the line of the one that Clarke started. “ _What_?” She repeated. Bellamy didn’t look at her.

“I heard that exact story last night,” he said, cutting the wood again. “From one of my best friends.” Cut. “Raven.” Cut. “She dated that asshole for five years.” Cut. “And he cheats on her with-“ Cut. “-And I quote-“ Cut. “- _Some local cute blonde-_ “ Cut. “-And _how did no one notice?_ ” Cut.

He’s breathing heavily by this point, aware of how much it took out of him to do this. He looks to Clarke, standing, shocked.

“You’re friends with her?” She asked, wide eyed. He nodded.

“For a few years now. She was on a backpacking trip for the past year in South America. Comes back to find her boyfriend dating someone else.” They’re silent for a moment.

Both him and Clarke turn over the information in front of them. _It’s a small town,_ Raven had said over her sixth shot, _how did you not see him dating another girl_? He had no clue at all. But he was angry. Angry at Raven for dating the wrong guy. Angry at Clarke for dating his friend’s boyfriend. Angry at Finn for being an asshole.

He turned back to the tree and continued chopping. He felt his anger in the cuts, hoping it would be rooted in them, and not at the girl.

“You don’t have to do that,” she told him.

“I want to, Princess,” he replied. He wasn’t sure if everything he said was laced in venom, or just her name. But his teeth were gritted and he watched the wood splinter off. Clarke didn’t say a thing, just stood there watching. He was sure he heard her say ‘thanks’ quietly, under her breath, but he didn’t act like he did.

Over the next few minutes of silent chopping, he reached the end of the tree. Or, really, the point that would be needed to end the tree. He stopped, holding out the axe for Clarke to take. She did so, slightly confused.

“Your ex-boyfriend, your tree,” he said as a way of explanation. He took the steps back and watched as she swung it only three times before it started to sway. Twice more and her hands were on the bark, pushing.

“Help,” she insisted, the axe dropped by her feet and her strength pushing the tree. He didn’t need to be told twice, and Bellamy joined her, pushing down the tree with all of his might.

When it fell, it made the loudest sound he could have imagined. Louder than he thought it would be, louder than it should have been. But the tree landed in the clearing of the grass, sickeningly crunching the branches, and Bellamy started to be thankful that there was no one else around.

The two of them stood in silence, staring at the tree for a while. Then, Clarke leant down, picked up her axe and started to leave. A few paces away, she turned back.

“You coming?” She called. Bellamy looked from the tree to her, before dumbly nodding. Together, they started up to the path, and then back in the direction he was originally walking – a relaxed pace that Bellamy thought should be slightly faster, considering they illegally chopped down a tree.

But he looked to Clarke, and saw her swiping at her eyes with the back of her hand, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She was a stranger, sure. And she was one of the people that made one of his best friends cry the night before – but she was in pain, too. And he had a feeling Raven would like Clarke, if they got to know each other.

To break the silence, and hopefully her sadness, he smiled at a thought. “I feel like you should know that your ex-boyfriend has already been beaten up by three guys in an alley,” he admitted, almost grinning at the night before. He still had the bruises on his knuckles – he didn’t regret a thing.

The woods lit up with Clarke’s sudden laugh, and Bellamy was suddenly excited to get to know her.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading. I appreciate all kudos and comments - so be generous and tell me what you liked, disliked, hated with a passion. It'll be like Christmas for me.
> 
> The film Bellamy's talking about is called 'Serena' and it came out either last year, or the one before that. Really good film with fantastic acting. Definitely go watch it.
> 
> Finally, my tumblr is BethanyInCandyland, if you want to prompt me or talk about any of my fics - or you can find me on twitter at bowlingfornerds.


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